Yearly AwardsFight Facts: Bellator 2020, a Year in Review
The coronavirus pandemic hit every MMA promotion hard this year, and Bellator MMA was no different. A sharp retraction in total events and fights came compared to the year before, along with a more centralized location for most of the events. These modified events still led to some intriguing but still noteworthy results throughout 2020, with several never-before-seen submissions, the all-time leader in wins emerging and a historic win streak that will likely never been matched.
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TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS IN 2020: 18
Knockouts: 16
Technical Knockouts: 36
Submissions: 40
Decisions: 98
No Contests: 3
Hey, Wha’ Happened?
Pele Demands a Sacrifice: While 2019 saw Bellator
host a record number of events and fights, 2020 was far different.
Four hundred Bellator fights went down last year, while the tally
was chopped in half to 193 in 2020.
And No Fans Either: Like the fight total, there were far fewer events this year thanks to the pandemic. Just 18 cards took place throughout the year, the lowest number since 2015 (16).
The Unluckiest 13: Thirteen events throughout 2019 featured at least 15 bouts or more slated for the cards. This was not the case this year, as no mid-pandemic event brought more than 13. Three cards: Bellators 238, 239 and 240 featured 15 or more, all taking place in January or February.
Take the Time, Reevaluate: With a five-month gap between Bellator 240 and 242, it is the longest stretch of no Bellator shows since Bellator 12 and 13, which took place in the summers of 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Enter the FightSphere: Just six different venues held Bellator cards this year. California, Oklahoma and Ireland all received fight cards at the beginning of the year, but Uncasville, Conn., served as the de facto home base for the promotion for much of the rest of the year. Eleven of the 18 Bellator events went down in the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Our New Home: The stretch of six consecutive events from Bellator 249 in October to 254 in December is the longest span of cards that Bellator has ever put on the same building by a wide margin pre-2020.
Slow Night at the Office: Although no 2020 event saw a 100 percent finish rate like Bellator 225 last year, the promotion did achieve a different distinction: Bellator 245 in September featured the lowest finish rate of any Bellator card ever, as just one bout of eight ended by stoppage, with two no contests throughout the card.
Just Something Strange: The first bout of 2020 and the last ended by unanimous decision. Miguel Neto beat David Pacheco at Bellator 238, while Julianna Velasquez topped Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at Bellator 254 to end it. This has never happened before in any prior year for the company.
Offset Brackets: While derailed for a few months, the featherweight grand prix continued in November to see the quarterfinal bouts of Patricio Freire over Pedro Carvalho and Emmanuel Sanchez over Daniel Weichel. On the other side of the bracket, A.J. McKee has already advanced to the finals by tapping out Darrion Caldwell.
But I Am Le Tired: In October for Bellator 248, the company became the first major MMA organization to travel to France. Frenchman Cheick Kongo made his first MMA appearance in his native country against Timothy Johnson, but he lost a split decision in front of 1,000 home crowd.
Tour of Italy: Bellator returned to Milan, Italy, in September to stage a trio of events. Milan is the first city Bellator has ever visited and posted up with back-to-back fight cards.
Making the Most of It: Five fighters recorded three wins throughout the year in the promotion: Aaron Pico, Grant Neal, Jay-Jay Wilson, Timothy Johnson and Yaroslav Amosov. No fighter made four trips to the Bellator cage this year.
Some Silver Lining: No fighter this year dropped three bouts, but 12 lost twice throughout 2020. None of those 12 suffered two stoppage losses.
Syndicated on Idiocracy: Three bouts ended by no contest, and all three ended during their respective events and not by being overturned. Tyrell Fortune, Raymond Daniels and Mandel Nallo all struck their opponent in the groin, and the bouts were called off.
No Sister-Kissing: Not a single match was scored a draw at the end of the year, making 2020 the first year with the company since 2012 where zero bouts ended in a draw.
Sir Pitbull: Freire became the winningest fighter in company history when he knocked out Carvalho. The victory was his 19th on the roster, breaking a tie held with ex-Bellator competitor Michael Chandler.
Will Never Be Broken: McKee extended the record for the longest winning streak of any Bellator fighter ever when he submitted Caldwell. Each of McKee’s 17 career bouts have come with the organization, and he has won all 17.
No Average Merc: “The Mercenary” set the record for the longest win streak (17) in any single major MMA promotion with his victory over Caldwell, supplanting Anderson Silva’s 16-fight win streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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When Can I Fight Again?
Keeping with the Trend: As only half as many bouts took place this year compared to 2019, the knockout total also diminished significantly. Fifty-two knockouts took place throughout the year, a tally dwarfed by 2019’s number (128). Fights ended by KO or TKO in just 18 different varieties.
Speed Kills (But Who’s Dying?): No knockout this year came anywhere close to the record of the fastest ever, and just two were registered in under 30 seconds. Sullivan Cauley busted up Jason Markland in 28 seconds at Bellator 253, and Jay-Jay Wilson did one better by finishing Sergio de Bari in just 20 seconds two fights later.
And the Kick is Good! A rare soccer kick knockout took place when Derek Anderson punted Killys Mota at Bellator 251. It was the third registered under the Bellator banner, although Yusuke Yachi’s against Hiroto Uesako in 2019 came while being contested under Pride rules.
Please Sir, I Want Some More: Oliver Enkamp notched the first spinning back fist knockout with Bellator by sparking Lewis Long since Ray Wood finished Chris Jones at Bellator 151 in 2016. It was the first to come from a Bellator welterweight.
Machida Would Be Proud: Even though many fighters have ended matches due to head kicks over the years, Ricardo Seixas is the first to level an opponent with a front kick. He knocked out Dominic Clark at Bellator 238.
A Regular Lumberjack: Charlie Campbell stopped Nainoa Dung with leg kicks in the second round at Bellator 243 to earn the sixth finish with these kicks in company history. He is the first to do so since Gaston Bolanos chopped down Malcolm Hill at Bellator 199 in 2018.
Not That There’s Anything Wrong with That: For each of the last three years, exactly one fighter has quit on the stool to award a TKO (Retirement) win for their opponent. This year, Kastriot Xhema could not continue against Albert Gonzales at Bellator 249, even though Gonzales suffered an injury and likely would not have been cleared to keep fighting.
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I Surrender to Your Will
Whatever It Is, It Hurts: McKee pulled off a unique submission later deemed a “McKeeotine” when he landed a modified neck crank from his back on Darrion Caldwell. It is the first time this move has been seen inside the Bellator cage.
ネクタイ: In addition to his aforementioned spinning back fist knockout, Enkamp also pulled off the first Japanese necktie submission in Bellator history by submitting Emmanuel Dawa at Bellator 248.
Too Bad Rolexes Are Swiss, Not from Sweden: Enkamp’s two wins both came in the first round this year. His knockout of Long came at the 4:10 mark of the first round, while his submission of Dawa also came at the 4:10 of Round 1.
Floating Rib Cracker: In her professional debut at Bellator 247, Monika Chochlikova forced fellow newcomer Jade Jorand to tap from a body triangle. The submission was the first of its kind in Bellator.
Baby Pitbull’s First Fight: In less than a minute at Bellator 245, Taylor Johnson tapped out Ed Ruth with an inverted heel hook. This move was first on display with Bellator when Freire hit one on Will Romero at Bellator 15 in 2010.
No Time to Be Ruthless: Only one submission took place in under 60 seconds this year: Johnson’s submission of Ruth. This is in sharp contrast to last year, as Aviv Gozali needed 11 seconds to earn the quickest tapout from a submission move in company history.
A Gracie-esque Honor: With a heel hook of Jon Fitch at Bellator 246, Neiman Gracie put himself alone with the second-most submissions in Bellator history with seven. Goiti Yamauchi has the most (eight).
Rear-Naked Routine: Rear-naked chokes accounted for exactly half of the Bellator submissions this year, for a greater percentage than any year in recent memory.
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Walk the Fields of Gold
Hoarding Gold: A championship belt was only on the line on seven separate occasions throughout the year, for the fewest title transaction tilts since 2012.
And No One Will Be Taking It: The only title up for grabs more than once in 2020 was the women’s featherweight strap. Cristiane Justino won it at Bellator 238 and defended it at Bellator 249.
Merciless Like A Cyborg: Justino won the throne by busting up Julia Budd and earning the stoppage in the fourth round. It marked the first championship bout to end in Round 4 since Rafael Carvalho head kicked Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 176 in 2017.
Stuck in Tournament Mode: Still the lightweight titleholder after knocking out Chandler in 2019, Freire did not defend the 155-pound crown in 2020 as he attended to the featherweight grand prix instead.
He Called Fives at Heavyweight: For the first time since 2017, the light heavyweight strap was on the table when Ryan Bader attempted to defend it against Vadim Nemkov. Nemkov scored a second-round knockout to wrest the gold from Bader’s hands, but Bader remains the heavyweight champ as it was undefended this year.
Mousasi Does That Sometimes: While three matchups in 2019 were for the welterweight title, it was never up for grabs this year. 170-pound flag-bearer Douglas Lima tried to become a two-division kingpin like Freire and Bader before him, but Gegard Mousasi rejected his claim after a grueling five-round contest.
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Money Won is Twice as Sweet as Money Earned
Guess I’ll Go Gamble: Far more bouts in 2020 had odds available than any previous year, with nearly 79 percent of all Bellator bouts seeing betting lines. Favorites won over 76 percent of their matchups, for a slightly lower margin than 2019 (78 percent).
Johnson Is for Real: Johnson scored the biggest Bellator upset of 2020 as a +550 underdog when he wrecked Fortune (-800) with one punch at Bellator 239. Over in the UFC, there have been two upsets more substantial than this one in 2020: Roxanne Modafferi (+650) over Maycee Barber (-1000), and Shana Dobson (+900) over Mariya Agapova (-1375).
Too Big to Fail: Johnson is the only one of 25 underdogs closing at +500 or above to spring an upset.
Taking Neal for Granted: Ten different fighters came in favored at -1000 or above, and six finished their opponents. One fighter came in this heavily favored twice: Grant Neal, who beat Hamza Salim by decision at Bellator 243 and tapped out Maurice Jackson at Bellator 254.
Almost Blew It: The loftiest betting favorite of the year came for Adam Borics, when he closed at -1700 against Mike Hamel (+950) at a 150-pound catchweight at Bellator 243. Borics won a narrow split decision.
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Do It to It, Lars
I Am Altering the Deal, Pray I Don’t Alter It Any Further: Sixteen fighters missed weight throughout the year, and of those 16, nine lost. Four of those athletes came in heavy ahead of previously scheduled catchweight contests, and all four lost.
Pandemic Prep: Proportionally fewer than last year, 30 bouts took place outside of standard weight classes. Eighteen of those were arranged ahead of time at these various categories.
The Inconsistency Is Consistent: Of the 18 events that took place this calendar year, just four went down without any catchweight contests on the card. Bellator 254 did lose a bout from a weight failure, when Yamauchi came in nearly seven pounds heavy and he was not cleared to compete.
Win Bonus Better Than Fine Percent: Twenty-five percent of the weight misses from standard weight categories came at featherweight. Each of the failed 145-ers went on to win their bouts by decision, despite the weight issues.
In Her Bellator Debut, No Less: Of all the botched weight cuts this past year that still led to fights happening, DeAnna Bennett missed weight by more than any other fighter. She came in 5.7 pounds heavy in her promotional debut at flyweight, and Liz Carmouche tapped her out in the third round.
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